cake Archives - Ari's Menu

Ginger Molasses Cake with White Chocolate Glaze {+ a giveaway!}

November 3, 2014 · by Ari · 21 Comments

Ultra soft and moist, perfectly spiced ginger molasses cake with a decadent white chocolate glaze. This cake is the perfect combination of flavors to get you in the holiday spirit, but secretly gluten-free and lightened-up with NO butter or oil!

I know, I know…it’s a little early, but I couldn’t give you a holiday themed giveaway without giving you some ginger molasses. Plus, it’s post Halloween, which is the rule in my book. In fact, I have asked Steve no less than 4 times whether we could put out Christmas tree up after Halloween. He still makes me wait until after Thanksgiving, which I think is so rude because Thanksgiving has been so late these last 2 years!

Anyway, it’s finally November, and I’m ready to get into the holiday spirit! I’m ready to get out Winston’s Hanukkah sweater, my candy cane shirt, and of course LIGHTS! Not to mention, every year I start teaching my performance troupe holiday songs in AUGUST, so I’m ready to actually enjoy them.

So let’s start with this cake. It is so simple, but filled with all of your favorite holiday flavors. It is also one of the softest, most tender cakes I have ever eaten. Not just out of the healthy cakes I make, but like, ever. That Taylor Swift lyric was totally unintentional. But I’m not deleting it. I just wish I had accidentally quoted Shake it Off instead because I’m kind of obsessed with it.

Anyway… This cake uses pumpkin puree (a great use for your fall baking leftovers!) in place of oil. It doesn’t taste like pumpkin. The very mild flavor that pumpkin puree contains on its own pairs perfectly with the gingerbread spices and, along with the buttermilk, is what makes this cake so unbelievably soft. Pumpkin is a great oil/butter replacement all year round! The glaze is thick with just the right amount of sweetness to balance out the bite of the spicy ginger. It is so good, you’ll find yourself making it in July!

Ginger Molasses Cake with White Chocolate Glaze {+ a giveaway!}

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes

Yield: 9 large pieces, or 16 smaller pieces

Serving Size: 1/16th recipe

Ginger Molasses Cake with White Chocolate Glaze {+ a giveaway!}

Ingredients

2 cups gluten-free baking blend (or white whole wheat flour)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
pinch salt
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup molasses
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
zest of 1 lemon
2 large eggs
1 cup reduced fat buttermilk

For the White Chocolate Glaze:

4 ounces white chocolate (preferably a good quality white chocolate, but white chocolate chips will work)
2-3 tablespoons unsweetened almond milk

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9" square pan with nonstick spray. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together baking blend, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and salt. In a large bowl beat together pumpkin, molasses, brown sugar and lemon zest. Beat in eggs one at a time. Stir in half the dry ingredients, followed by buttermilk, then remaining dry ingredients. Mix until just combined--do not over mix.
Transfer to prepared baking pan and bake until browned and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a few crumbs, about 35-40 minutes. Cool completely.
To make glaze place white chocolate in a microwave safe bowl (if using a bar, make sure it is chopped into small pieces). Heat for 20-30 seconds just to warm the white chocolate. Heat almond milk until almost boiling, then pour 2 tablespoons immediately over warmed white chocolate. Stir until melted. Add last tablespoon of milk if desired to get a thinner glaze. Frost and serve. Leftovers may be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for 5-7 days.

http://www.arismenu.com/ginger-molasses-cake-white-chocolate-glaze-giveaway/

To ring in the holiday baking season, my friends and I on the Real Housemoms team are bringing you a Holiday Baking Giveaway! One winner will receive $500 in prizes, including a 4.5 quart KitchenAid Stand Mixer, a signed copy of Dessert Mash-Ups, $150 in PayPal cash, and more! And to give you some baking inspiration to make with your winnings, we’re sharing 40+ Holiday Baking Recipes too! Happy baking and good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Drink & Dish: DIY Funfetti Cake Mix {with video!}

April 8, 2013 · by Ari · 32 Comments

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY BEST BLOG FRIEND NICOLE!!!!

You guys know how insanely obsessed with birthdays I am, right? I jump on any chance to celebrate, and I consider birthdays the day you celebrate that people you love are in your life. My normal birthday message goes something like “Happy birthday! I’m glad you were born!”

So okay, it might sounds a little silly and cheesy, but how often to we actually tell people we love that we’re glad they’ve in our lives? It’s nice to have a day where we’re reminded. Or maybe I’m just sentimental…

The beginning of April is crazy birthday time! Within a week, Steve, Nicole and her husband Lance all have their birthdays. I’m the odd man out, but that’s probably a good thing, because I have a total sharing problem when it comes to my birthday. I reallllllly like attention (in case you haven’t figured that one out yet), and I don’t want to share my thunder with anyone.

Once my dad told me he was dating someone with the same birthday as me. He thought I would think this was “cool”. I told him he should probably break it off. Some people are bad at sharing books and m&ms (I love you Heath), I’m bad at sharing birthdays.

So I have some pretty serious character flaws. Sharing, over sharing, and obsessive sprinkle photographing. I’m sorry. I took, like, 100 pictures because…sprinkles, they’re sooooo pretty. It was one of those magic days where I loved shooting from every angle, and of course, I wanted to share every single one of them with you because God forbid I leave out the one that looks the same, but it slightly closer up. I don’t know what my problem is.

That’s why I made the little collage. I figured it would make this post, maybe not 500 years long. Some people just post, like 2 pictures, say a few words, and then post a recipe, but I have SO MANY things to say and OMG SO MANY things to show you!

Oh, and I guess I should talk about the cake mix, eh? To put it concisely (because lord knows I’ve talked enough in this post), I can’t believe I ever bought a boxed cake mix! This was so much easier than driving to the store! I know sometimes we like to have a little bit of cake mix on hand for when other recipes call for it–well friends, you just put some together, and have it ready in the pantry. It’s so easy. And when I baked it into cupcakes, all I did was mix everything together in one bowl (all you have to add is applesauce, almond milk and vanilla!), and my cupcakes were done in NO TIME! Not to mention, they domed up so beautifully!

It was a great excuse to throw some sprinkles around with the birthday girl, and film the latest episode of Drink & Dish! Make sure to check out Nicole’s Boozy Birthday Cake Shake. It is ridiculously, sinfully good.

DIY Funfetti Cake Mix

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 5 minutes

Serving Size: 1/24th mix

Easy, homemade, whole grain, vegan funfetti cake mix in less time than it takes to run to the store to buy a box.

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup corn starch
2 tsp baking powder
small pinch salt
1 1/3 cups Jimmies sprinkles

Instructions

Whisk all ingredients in together in a large bowl. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 months.

Notes

To bake cupcakes, simply add 2/3 cup applesauce, 2 and 1/2 cups unsweetened almond milk, and 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract to mix. Stir until combined. Evenly divide the batter between 2 dozen cupcake tins and bake @ 350 until a toothpick in the center comes out clean, 20-25 minutes. You can also bake into 2 8-9" rounds, or one large sheet cake, just adjust baking times accordingly.

http://www.arismenu.com/drink-dish-diy-funfetti-cake-mix-with-video/

Skinnified Sunday: Banana Bread Tres Leches Cake

March 17, 2013 · by Ari · 14 Comments

I don’t like to make things I’ve already made. I mean, I make the same thing for breakfast every single day, and I order the same thing every time at my favorite restaurants, but I don’t like to bake things more than once, even if it’s a different recipe. Well, unless it’s cookies. Cookies are my favorite. I will make them over and over and over for no reason at all. Cake on the other hand? Meh, I can take it or leave it. I will always eat a dessert, but cookies and fro yo are my true loves.

Well, that is the case with most cakes anyway, but every once in a while, I come across one I really love. 😉

I’ve already made a regular tres leches cake, and a vegan tres leches cake. I had no desire to make an other one, but when people make birthday requests, I can’t say no.

I wanted to try something new and different, and I immediately remembered this recipe that caught my eye a few weeks ago. I’m pretty sure I’ve said about 5 billion times that Jessica’s blog is my very very favorite. She is my blogspiration–her writing, her recipes, her gorgeeeooouuusss photography….everything is just soooo good. If you haven’t you must go check it out rightthissecond.

And as usual, she doesn’t disappoint! Soft, gooey, milk soaked banana cake? Sign me up. I may even like it better than cookies.

My swaps:

White whole wheat flour for all purpose (+fiber, +protein)
Applesauce for butter (-fat, -calories, -cholesterol)
Less sugar (-sugar…obviously)
Unsweetened almond milk for light coconut milk (-calories)
Sweetened condensed coconut milk for regular condensed milk (-calories)
Regular sliced bananas for caramelized bananas (-fat, -calories, -sugar, -cholesterol)

Skinnified Banana Bread Tres Leches Cake

adapted from How Sweet It Is

2 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
pinch cinnamon
pinch salt
1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
2 eggs, yolks and whites separated
2 tsp vanilla extract
4 medium bananas, mashed
2/3 cup + 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk, divided
1/2 cup sweetened condensed coconut milk
1/2 cup fat-free evaporated milk
1 1/2 cups cold heavy whipping cream
1-2 tbsp powdered sugar
2-3 bananas for topping

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9×13 baking dish with nonstick spray.
In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.
In an other small bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Set aside.
In a large bowl or stand mixer, beat together egg yolks, applesauce and sugars until creamy. Add vanilla and mashed bananas and beat until well combined. Add half of the flour mixture, followed by 2/3 cup almond milk, then the remaining flour mixture. Mix until just combined. Fold in egg whites.
Transfer batter to prepared baking dish, and bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs, about 25 minutes. Cool completely
In a medium bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup almond milk, sweetened condensed coconut milk and evaporated milk. Pour the milk mixture over the cake in 3 small batches, brushing with a pastry brush in between each time. Cover and let cake sit in refrigerator for at least 1 hour (overnight is preferable).
To make the whipped cream topping, in a large bowl, beat whipping cream on high until stiff peaks form. Add powdered sugar slowly to reach desired sweetness mixing on medium speed. Spread evenly over cake.
Top with freshly sliced banana just before serving.

White Chocolate & Cinnamon Chip Banana Cake

February 22, 2013 · by Ari · 10 Comments

I want to tell you about one of my favorite nights ever in life.

I was training for my first half marathon, Steve and I invited Kara, Charlie and Hermano over for dinner to celebrate Long Run Day. It’s a real holiday when you’re training. Trust me.

We went to Whole Foods and each picked out our meat of choice, and I made a sweet potato hash on the side. We ate a delicious dinner paired with lots of dark, sweet beer (my favorite), and then we watched the Muppets Christmas Carol. It was December, and that is pretty much my favorite holiday movie.

Around the middle of the movie, we all started to want dessert. I was maybe, kind of, a little…tipsy. I usually at least follow a base recipe for an idea of liquid/flour/leavening agent ratio, but I didn’t measure a single thing. I flew by the seat of my pants, and hoped for the best.

Well, Hermano has been obsessed ever since. He calls it his favorite dessert I’ve ever made. Although, like my husband, I feel like he says that a lot. 😉 Anyway, he’s been asking me to recreate for the last year, and I kept telling him I didn’t know how.

Last weekend, he performed in the southwest regionals concert. He got second chair as a sophomore! He was also asked to play with the choir. I was feeling like a super proud sister, so Steve and I surprised him with a steak from Whole Foods, and I told him I could make him whatever he wanted for dessert. He, again, requested “that one thing….with the banana…” He has a way with words.

So again, I decided to wing it. This time I measured, but I just made it up as I went, and hoped for the best. I had no intentions of photographing it, or blogging about it, but after one bite, I knew it was too good not to share. Hermano immediately confirmed that this was the dessert he wanted. I know I changed it up a little, but the idea was similar, and the cream cheese frosting just took it to the next level.

Sweet, tender, soft and gooey banana cake filled with white chocolate and cinnamon chips, and topped with rich cream cheese frosting. I don’t know how I ever doubted the success of this dessert! Whenever I make things up as I go, I almost always have a moment where I decide I’ve “ruined it”, or it’s a total flop, but usually it’s just my silly anxieties. Now I know I had absolutely nothing to worry about here!

White Chocolate & Cinnamon Chip Banana Cake

yield 16 servings

3/4 cup white whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
dash salt
2 very ripe large medium bananas
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp butter extract (optional)
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup cinnamon chips

Cream cheese frosting:

4 oz reduced fat cream cheese
1 tbsp light whipped butter
1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Line an 8×8 pan with foil and spray with nonstick spray. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl, beat together bananas, sugar, egg and extracts. Mix in dry ingredients until just combined. Fold in white chocolate and cinnamon chips.
Transfer mixture to prepared baking dish and bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20-25 minutes. Cool completely on wire rack.
Meanwhile in a large bowl, beat cream cheese and butter until fluffy. Slowly, 1/4 cup at a time, beat in powdered sugar, scraping down the sides of the bowl when necessary. Beat in vanilla.
Remove completely cooled cake from baking dish and top with cream cheese frosting. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Sunflower Butter White Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake

January 11, 2013 · by Ari · 16 Comments

SOMEONE’S GETTING MARRIED TODAY!!!!!

Noooo, not me silly gooses. I already have a real husband and a New York Husband, and that is plenty. Plus, you know I said some vows to my Kitchenaid…

Ummm, I know what you’re thinking, but it’s totally normal to have two human husbands and one appliance. And everyone says vows to their favorite kitchen appliance, okay?

Sunflower Butter White Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake

This is one of the most pointless food pictures I’ve ever taken. It shows you nothing about the actual cake, but for some reason I just love it.

Today my beautiful, wonderful friend Jen is getting hitched! I flew in to NYC late last evening, and today I’m road tripping down to Virginia for the wedding. It’s a long story, but the extra states saved me a night’s hotel fair, and earned me some extra time with NY Husband, so it’s well worth the extra travel. Jen is one of the most giving, loving people I have ever met, and I can’t wait to be a part of her special day!

I figured since today was extra special, I would do something I never do and post a CAKE! I very rarely make real cakes. I’m much more of a cupcake girl. I like the built in portion control of a cupcake, because lord knows I will break out a fork, and eat the entire cake if left to my own devices…

One time, I made Steve a red velvet cake for his birthday. Of course, this was before I knew how to cook, like at all, so it came from a box. I forgot the eggs (which is pretty typical for me), and the cake, although delicious, was a crumbly mess. This was also pre-weight-loss for both of us. We each ended up grabbing a fork, and almost completely devouring this double layer cake. It was really cute, I swear.

I can’t promise you that you will not have the same problem here, because this cake is GOOD. The edges browned and got slightly crispy while the middle stayed perfectly gooey and soft. The cake isn’t overly sweet to balance out the rich, chocolatey icing, and the white chocolate chips throughout create a perfect flavor balance. In basic terms, it tastes kinda like a HUGE, soft peanut butter cookie with white chocolate chips, that’s covered in rich chocolate cream cheese frosting. Except, it’s a cake. A cake I can get behind. Now, please pass me the fork.

Sunflower Butter White Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake

yield approx 16 servings

1/4 cup apple butter
2/3 cup sunflower butter (or any nut butter you have on hand will work)
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup white whole wheat flour
1 and 1/2 tsp baking powder
dash salt
3/4 cup brown sugar,packed
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg

For the Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting:

12 oz reduced fat cream cheese
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 and 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 and 1/4 oz dark chocolate, melted and cooled
1 tsp vanilla extract
2-3 tbsp unsweetened almond milk

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350. Line the bottom of a 9-10″ springform pan with parchment paper. Spray edges and parchment paper well with nonstick spray. Set aside.
In a medium bowl. whisk flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl (or in the bowl of a stand mixer), beat together apple butter, sunflower butter, brown sugar, and vanilla until well combined. Beat in egg. Slowly add dry ingredients and mix until incorporated. Fold in white chocolate chips.
Transfer dough to prepared pan, and use a piece of sprayed parchment paper to gently press into an even layer.
Bake for 18-22 minutes, until lightly golden. The center should be set, but soft. Cool completely in pan.
Once cooled, run a butter knife along the inside to release any areas that are stuck, then open springform, and transfer cake to your preferred frosting area.
To make frosting, beat cream cheese on medium speed until smooth. Add vanilla extract. Add in powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time, beating on low speed, followed by cocoa powder. Increase to medium speed and add melted chocolate. Beat until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl often. Slowly, add almond milk 1 tbsp at a time until frosting reaches a spreadable consistency.
Frost cooled cookie cake completely, and serve.

Fro Yo Cake with Nutella Cookie Crust

March 12, 2012 · by Ari · 2 Comments

Remember this birthday cake gem that Steve got me from Yogurtology?

That cake was perfection. More delicious than ice cream cake, but fro yo, so that makes it healthy, right? Riiiiiight.

What’s even better than a perfectly prepared oatmeal cookie fro yo cake made with love by a Yogurtology employee? One made with more love by ME!

With a butter cookie crust, layers of Nutella and TJ’s Cookie Butter, and topped with Yogurtology’s pretty much famous oatmeal cookie fro yo, this may not be the healthiest cake I’ve ever made, but when you compare to a typical ice cream cake, it definitely can at least hold up to a healthier title, and let me tell you, I would choose this over a regular ice cream cake any day of the week!

Fun fact, ice cream has always been my favorite dessert. I *almost* never eat it now, because I love fro yo so much and never really want to spend the extra calories, but I am of the opinion that if it doesn’t at least include ice cream, it’s not really a dessert. Plain cookie? That’s a snack 😉 Cookie a la mode? Mmmmm….dessert! Fro yo with cookie, Nutella and cookie butter? 3x a day for the rest of my life? Okay….If you insist….

Can we also talk about how this cake takes all of like 20 minutes to make? So easy, and ridiculously hard to mess up! Trust me, I can usually mess up anything 😉

Fro Yo Cake with Nutella Cookie Crust

yield approx 16 slices

1 package Chessman cookies (or any buttery shortbread type cookie), finely crumbled
1/4 cup apple butter
1/2 cup + 2 tbs Nutella, melted & divided
1/3 cup TJ’s cookie butter (or Biscoff spread), melted
1 quart + 1 cup fro yo of choice, softened but not melted

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a spring form pan with cooking spray, then wrap tin foil around the bottom to avoid fro yo dripping out.
In a medium bowl, combine cookie crumbs (reserving 1-2 tbs to sprinkle on top) with apple butter. I suggest just using your hands and getting in there.
Press cookie and apple butter mixture into the bottom of the spring form pan and bake for 8-10 min, until set.
Cool for 10-15 minutes, then spread Nutella on top. Let sit for a minute before brushing cookie butter on top of Nutella.
Use a spatula to evenly spread the fro yo on top.
Drizzle with Nutella and sprinkle with remaining cookie crumbs.
Freeze for 2-3 hours until set, then serve and enjoy!

Nacho’s 30th Birthday

March 4, 2012 · by Ari · Leave a Comment

Last Saturday, Steve and I went up to The Talking Stick Resort to celebrate Nacho turning 30. Jason went all out for Nacho’s birthday, getting both of their families in town, and planning an amazing surprise party. He wanted to have an “out of town” feel, so he rented a beautiful suite at the resort and we had the party there–so fun! Steve and I got there early to help get everything set up. Jason and Christy don’t consider themselves to be very artistic, so I was put in charge of decorating, and I was thrilled to ~~be in charge of something~~ help out.

I made sure to bring my own knife to cut the cake later since we wouldn’t be at a house. Well, after talking about how Jason, his dad and Christy all love to watch true murder stories on television, obviously we had to reenact what that looks like.

Jason's dad,Russ. His is definitely the scariest! Don't worry Russ, I will make sure to NEVER make you angry!

Christy

Hey face, what's up with all those wrinkles? Maybe you didn't get the memo that I'm not actually old yet.

After getting everything set up, we went down to the buffet where everyone was meeting for dinner.

Nacho arrived with his mom and sister. SURPRISE!!!!

Once everyone had arrived, we headed in to eat. Most people seemed to really enjoy the buffet.

You're welcome, Jason. I'm sure you're going to be thrilled about this photo.

After eating, Nacho opened some of her cards and presents.

He still didn’t even know we had a room and he seemed a little confused as to why we went to this resort to eat at the buffet, haha. He also mentioned that he couldn’t believe I hadn’t made his birthday cake. Usually I suck at being sneaky, so I felt pretty awesome that he had no idea about it. We finished things up at the buffet.

Love this one!! So sweet!

Then we blindfolded Nacho to try to keep the room as much of a surprise as possible!

SURPRISE!!!!!

YOU’RE NEXT FOR THE CRIME INVESTIGATION SHOWS!!!!

AHHHHHH!!!!

Just kidding 😉

We opened some bottles of wine and some beers, and all hung out for a bit.

Jason's parents (Russ & Ann). See, Russ doesn't always look crazy!

Steve and Charles--it's a miracle because Charles pretty much refuses to ever pose for the camera.

Tom

Then it was time for BIRTHDAY CAKE!!! Home made fro yo cake to be exact. When I asked Jason what he thought Nacho wanted, he mentioned that he had really loved the cake we got for my birthday from Yogurtology, so I tried my hand at creating my own.

In case you didn't notice, Nacho LOVES Snoopy.

Ohhhhh, that's what knives are for!

Yummmm. It was gone in about 10 minutes. I was so worried about what we’d do with the leftovers, and there weren’t any! Eventually everyone headed down to the casino, but Steve and I were exhausted, so we went home around 10:30. We’re old. 😉

Jason totally outdid himself on the party planning! It was so much fun, and such a great idea!